The school board has joined with the QC District Teachers' Association to commemorate the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.
At the school board meeting November 26, the board heard from QCDTA president Duncan White who said "we need to show that we are all in this together, because it is something we can all join with. It is a horrible event. And it needs to be remembered so that it doesn't happen again."
The day of remembrance is tomorrow (December 6) and is an opportunity to reflect on the tragic events of 1989 when 14 women were killed at an engineering school in Montreal.
Mr. White told the school board that in 2001, sexual assaults up for the first time in 9 years, there was a 6-percent increase in the number of women and children seeking shelter, and the homicide rate up for first time since 1995.
He said teachers on the islands very often have marked the day by lighting a candle in the classroom and making white ribbons available.
The school board agreed that marking the day is important, and decided to co-operate with the teachers in publicizing the event.